Reference and Instruction Librarian (Tenure Track)

Description

THE OPPORTUNITY
Highline College (HC) is seeking qualified applicants for a full-time tenure track faculty position in the Library.

This position is expected to begin in September 2025.

Essential Tasks

Professional Responsibilities

Please address the following responsibilities in your cover letter. If you don’t have experience in an academic setting, please address them within the context of your professional experience:

One of Highline College’s core competencies is to teach students how to Develop Information and Visual Literacy. The successful candidate will lead the library’s work to integrate generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and academic integrity into information and visual literacy (IL) initiatives, both within the library and across campus.

• Lead Area: 

  • Coordinate all librarian IL activities, including instruction and assessment;

  • Demonstrate teaching effectiveness with IL instruction, including generative AI and emerging technologies, with groups and individuals; 

  • Develop innovative ways to integrate AI literacy with IL; 

  • Create and deliver instruction that aids in the development of students’ understanding and use of IL in their academic careers and daily lives;

  • Collaborate with multiple stakeholders on projects related to AI and academic integrity, supporting its use from the Highline College Library;

  • Act as Highline College Library’s point of contact for AI questions and issues related to IL, share expertise about and engage the campus community on issues related to AI and academic integrity.

• Professional Librarian Responsibilities:

  • Provide research assistance and individual instruction in the use of library services and resources in person; over Zoom; and via email, online chat, and phone to students, faculty, staff and the public;

  • Collaborate with discipline faculty to teach course-integrated IL tied to student learning outcomes, including AI and emerging technologies;

  • Assess student learning outcomes based on the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy;

  • Participate in maintaining the library collection through ordering and weeding library materials;

  • Provide support to campus initiatives to improve equity, retention, and student achievement, specifically to cohorts of underserved students;

  • Develop and strengthen campus and community partnerships through outreach.

• Advising/ Coaching/ Mentoring: Work with students outside of class to help them choose courses and get connected with campus and community resources. Participate in professional learning opportunities focused on culturally responsive advising and establishing relationships with students;

• Collaborate with colleagues/participate in shared governance: In collaboration with colleagues, engage in continuous improvement through college-wide assessment processes. Participate in department, division, and other College activities, including College governance. Establish and maintain respectful, ethical, and professional relationships with students and colleagues;

• Professional development/ ongoing professional learning: Engage in ongoing professional learning. This includes remaining current in your discipline and evidence-based practices for culturally response, inclusive, and anti-racist pedagogies

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master's degree (or higher) in Library and Information Science or closely related field from an institution with regional accreditation or its international equivalent. For closely related areas, transcripts should reflect significant related coursework.
  • Pending degrees must be completed by September 2025 and verified by a letter from the granting institution.

Desired Qualifications:

We desire a candidate with one or more of the following qualifications.  We expect the successful candidate to have only some of these qualifications. If these are not evident in your resume, be sure to discuss them in your cover letter:

• Experience teaching and assessing IL in an academic setting;
• Experience in providing reference services in person and via Zoom, online chat, email, and phone;
• Experience with a broad range of electronic information resources;
• Experience with basic web development, learning management systems, and emerging technologies (including generative AI);
• Fluency in a language other than English;
• Experience collaborating effectively with library and campus colleagues;
• Experience working with students from diverse backgrounds and/or multilingual learners.

Supplemental Information

ABOUT THE LIBRARY REFERENCE DEPARTMENT:

Faculty librarians serve every student, faculty member, staff member and administrator at Highline College, as well as the general public. At Highline, faculty librarians provide active, inclusive, and culturally relevant learning environments and curricula that welcome and engage all students, incorporating instructional technologies as appropriate to improve student attainment. The librarians demonstrate cultural responsiveness and a commitment to equity in interactions with students, faculty, staff and community members who span a diverse range of languages, nationalities and ethnicities, socio-economic levels, identities and educational experiences. The librarians take a collaborative approach to day-to-day activities, to the development of innovations and new initiatives and, when necessary, to problem-solving. The librarians practice self-reflection in teaching and learning, assessment, leadership, professional development and service.

HIGHLINE COLLEGE OFFERS:

• Robust support for innovative teaching, learning, and scholarship;

• A friendly, supportive, and highly engaged work environment with diverse colleagues;

• Support for continued professional growth, including conference funding, internal curriculum development grants, annual professional development events, and established community partnerships. 

All Highline College faculty have the opportunity to engage labor issues and collectively bargain through the Highline College Education Association, a faculty union affiliated with the Washington Education Association.